[Peace-discuss] --Congratulations Lula -- from ZNet (fwd)

[tejal d chande]

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Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 11:14:18 -0500
Reply-To: znetupdates at zmag.org

Hope wins over fear in Brazil
by Judy Rebick

Lula said it best: =93Hope won over fear.=94 In a decisive victory with a
record 83 million votes cast, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers=92
Party (PT) =97 known everywhere as Lula =97 became the President-elect of
Brazil last night with 61 per cent of the total.

In what could be an excellent omen, October 27 is also Lula=92s 57th
birthday.

Brazilians poured into the streets to party even before Lula=92s opponent,
Jos=E9 Serra, ceded defeat. In Rio de Janeiro, thousands began a march
from the top of the famed Corcovado mountain and snaked down through
favelas and neighbourhoods to the centre of town, where the partying
went on long into the night.

"Lula said he was being elected president of the republic in the name of
our generation, everyone who fought for democracy in Brazil and dreamed
about this moment,=94 said Workers=92 Party President Jos=E9 Dirceu.

Rici Lake, a rabble.ca citizen journalist posting from Brazil says:  "It
was a great party. Marco Zero -- the plaza at the centre of Recife --
was absolutely packed. The estimate is that there were 200,000 people
there, which certainly seems plausible. The elections office had set up
a giant screen showing the results as they came in."

In San Paulo, Brazil's largest city,  people were literally dancing in
the streets all night.

The election of a democratic socialist as president of Brazil, the
world=92s fifth largest democracy, will also have tremendous repercussions
across Latin America and around the world. Lula strongly opposes the
Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA). The PT, along with organized social
movements, held a people=92s plebiscite last month where 10 million people
voted 85 per cent against the FTAA. There is no question that Brazil
will not only oppose but organize opposition to a free trade deal in the
Americas.

President Hugo Ch=E1vez of Venezuela spoke of Lula joining him in a Latin
American =93axis of good,=94 reported the New York Times.

The Workers=92 Party has pioneered a new form of people=92s democracy that
provides a model for the left around the world. When he was speaking in
Toronto a few years ago, Lula asked, =93Did we win democracy, only to have
the right to cry out our hunger?=94

"I want my victory to symbolize that nobody is inferior to anybody
else,=94 Lula said in a speech on Wednesday. =93A lathe operator can be mor=
e
competent in doing politics than many political scientists.=94

The World Social Forum organized in PT-led Porto Allegre has already
provided a centre for social justice movements around the world. Lula=92s
victory will be a huge injection of energy in building a global movement
for social justice.

Perhaps as important is the symbolism of Lula=92s victory. As the first
working class president, Lula=92s election gives tremendous power to the
poor, landless and marginalized people of Brazil. The PT has close links
to massive social movements who have promised to mobilize to ensure that
this electoral victory is just the beginning of a broad transformation
towards social justice.

Dealing with the massive economic inequalities in Brazil will be an
enormous challenge for Lula. Neo-liberalism has hit Brazil=92s economy
hard. The gap between rich and poor is one of the biggest in the world.
Unemployment is at its highest levels since early 2000, and there is a
$260-billion debt. There is also the difficulty of transforming an
economy under the triple threat of investment flight, International
Monetary Fund (IMF) sanctions and possible U.S. intervention.

Moreover, Lula=92s Workers=92 Party is far from controlling Congress.
Brazil=92s system is modeled on the American system so the President=92s
power can be limited by Congress. In state elections, the PT did not do
as well, winning governor in only three states out of 27, two of these
in the first round.

Rici Lake reports, "Although it was certainly a night to celebrate, it
was also a victory for Lula more than for the PT, which had
disappointing if not heart-breaking results in second-round state
governorships'"

There were several very close races.  "In Rio Grande do Sul, the
traditional home of the PT, PT candidate Tarso Genro was beaten by the
PMDB candidate by 52.7% to 47.3%. Genro had been trailing throughout the
polls, and the result was better than had been predicted by pollsters.
However, it is obviously still a disappointment."

The U.S. government and the markets seem to be taking a wait-and-see
approach. U.S. President Bush made a pro forma statement congratulating
Lula on his victory through a spokesperson yesterday. Brazilian
currency, under attack by international markets since Lula=92s first round
victory October 6, made a slight rally in the last few days.

In his first formal address on television last night, Lula said he would
=93do everything within my reach to bring peace to our continent=94 and
=93build a country that has more justice, brotherhood and solidarity.=94
Viva o Presidente Lula!

Judy Rebick is publisher of www.rabble.ca, where this article originally
appeared.  She is also the author of Imagine Democracy (Stoddart), which
was in part inspired by the experiences of the PT in Brazil.

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